The cold earth sleeps below, above the cold sky shines

Comparison of network bandwidth (the maximum data transfer rate) in megabits per second.  McMurdo has about the bandwidth of one smartphone for 1200 people at peak season               Current conditions:  Temp -17ºF (wind chill out of range), mostly clear.  Population: 298 If you pay attention to the population size in the header, you'll start to notice it rising, initially slowly and then quite steeply.  Our internet access will go down proportionate with the number of people--and the type of people--on the station.   Here is why.  No high-speed fiber-optic cables connect us to the internet.   Rather, we get our internet through a network of tracking and data relay satellites in geosynchronous orbit.  Fiber optic cable transmissions go at the speed of light and usually transmit over short distances.  Satellite transmissions goes at the speed of radio waves over a very long di...

Current conditions:  Con 3.  Temp -15°F (-27°F with windchill).  Clear.  Population 298 Today, I went with Dean to the NSF leadership group meeting.  The Lead Doctor is usually the only one who goes, but because I'm Dean's primary back-up, he thought it best to introduce me. The meeting is held in the "war-room" of McMurdo, otherwise known as the the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).  Twenty-five department directors filled the room: 18 men (including 14 with an impressive variety of facial hair), and seven women. The base commander went around the room, asking each to describe their week's activities.  I found it fascinating. The biggest topic of the week was the management of the air fields. We are entering Main Body and at least three flights will happen each week, including flights by Airbuses and 757's before they switch to C17's later in October.  Keeping the airfield safe is by far the biggest preoccupation of the base right n...

  Current conditions:  Con 3, Temp -8F (-29F with wind chill), partly cloudy.  Population: 298 Good news first:  we made it out to Scott Base for date night.  The short drive was captivating-sparkling really.  We looked over new waves of pressure ridges forming on the sea ice below us while Mt. Erebus, glimmered in the distance with a tiny puff of smoke swirling from the top. The volcano, Mt. Erebus as seen from Scott Base.  Note the puff of smoke at the top.  The medical team had been invited by their medic to dinner.  Currently, Scott Base has about 30 people in residence who all share cooking responsibilities.  Tonight was burger night. The base itself is as nice inside as it looks outside--a far cry from the ugly, threadbare appearance of everything at McMurdo.  The buildings are arranged so that every window in living quarters looks out over the sea ice.  The rooms are cozy and comfortable with lots of ni...

A beautiful, balmy day.   Current Conditions:  Con 3, Temp 1°F (warm!)  Calm.  Unrestricted visibility.  Population 298 The purpose of McMurdo Station is to do science. My job--and that of 95% of the people currently on site--is purely to support the conduct of science.   The scientists, with a couple exceptions, have not yet arrived.  They and their post-docs and students will start to rotate through in one- to five-month blocks, beginning in October.  A number of current staff, from janitors to secretaries, were once NSF-funded Antarctic scientists who became addicted to the McMurdo life.  They would rather mop floors in Antarctica then write NSF grants in Nebraska.  It's a life philosophy that I completely understand! I mentioned at the last blog that scientists at the South Pole do mainly Astrophysics and physics.  At McMurdo, the major projects fall into a number of broad areas:  Ecology and Globa...

US permanent bases in Antarctica Current conditions:  Con 2, Temp -6ºF (-28ºF with wind chill), snowing.  Population: 298 I'm embarrassed to say that it took me until yesterday to figure out precisely where I am. So now that I know, here's the scoop. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent; larger than Europe and Australia and not too much smaller than South America.  The continent is home to forty or so permanent (i.e,. year-round) research bases scattered across the continent, respresenting 30 countries.  The US has three bases.  Besides McMurdo, the other two are: Palmer (64.7ºS) is on an island just to the west of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and is actually above the Antarctic Circle (66ºS).  It's the smallest and warmest base with the most wildlife.  Yesterday, the temperature was a balmy 25ºF.  The crew (N=40 or so) arrives by ship from Punta Arenas, 650 miles away.  Most research at Palmer is biological, related to...